Men's Basketball

Hurricanes land 6-2 guard

Mike Leeder needed someone to run the basketball team, and he's
found his man.

A Gordon native and former Wilkinson County standout, Damayrius
Adside signed with Georgia Southwestern this weekend.

"He's a physically strong point guard that can really attack the
rim," said Leeder. "The thing that's going to help us is he's a
very competitive kid. He's what we didn't have last year."

Adside (6-2, 200) comes from Neosho County Community College
(Kan.) where he was second on the team in scoring (14.3), steals
(77), assists (141) and 3-pointers made (41).

Adside likes to think of himself as a pass-first guard, and he
said his main goal is to make the players around him better,
including All-Peach Belt performer Anthony Sargent who was at the
top of the conference in steals and scoring.

"I'm a driver, I like to penetrate a lot, and I want to get
(teammates) to the right spots where they can produce," he said.
"But I am a scoring point guard."

Leeder said the best way to describe Adside would be calling him
a "ball guard."

"I think he can get to the basket and force a lot of teams to
help from somewhere else on defense," he said. "We've always had
success when our guards have been the focal points of the offense.
We'll need him to score, but I hope we will have better pieces
around him."

The Hurricanes graduated two seniors off last year's team, but a
total of five are not returning. Leeder said there's a good chance
he'll be running the offense, and he believes Adside will fit right
in.

"He can overpower some of the guards we've seen," he said. "He
shows the willingness to pass, and he can really get to the basket.
We want to find guys who have passion about playing, and he's
really good. We wanted to make sure we upgraded overall in the
backcourt, and I think we did that. We're ahead of the game."

Prior to Neosho County CC, Adside played a year at Georgia
Perimeter, helping the Jaguars to the NJCAA tournament. He said the
two years of junior college will help most in adjusting to the
tempo and a faster played game.

He also said Leeder is the type of coach he wants to learn from
and grow as a player.

"He's a demanding coach, he demands the best out of you every
day," he said. "He challenges you to step up your game."

Adside also has some ties to the university as his cousin, Shawn
King, was a standout for the Hurricanes from 2005-2007.

The GSW 2008-09 season kicks off Saturday, November 15 against
Puerto Rico-Cayey. The game will be played at Valdosta
State and tip-off time is TBA.